We awoke this morning like kids on Christmas morning. Only this year we didn’t get a Red Rider, we got an Alaskan adventure! The gray of yesterday disappeared throughout the night and the sun rose to a beautiful, clear day on Bellingham Bay. Everyone was anxious to get going and after making final preparations to our vessels, which would serve as our homes for the next 23 days, we set sail for Victoria, B.C. NW Explorations staff and friends came down to wish us fair winds and calm seas and helped to see us off. The morning was so clear that even the majestic Mt. Baker, North Cascades and Olympic mountain ranges came out to wish us a safe and wonderful trip. As we cruised, we received several phone calls of excited friends on various islands we passed who noticed the handsome group of Grand Banks cruising and called to say “it must be Mother Goose time”!
As we got closer to Victoria the skies started to cloud over but our vision along the horizon was still spectacular. We were even able to see Mt. Rainier in the distance. As we continued north through the straights of Juan de Fuca, the water started to get a little choppy however we were still able to make out a few harbor porpoise sightings. We were also able to see rhinoceros auklets that had breeding plumage; they are quite the remarkable little birds. As we pulled into Victoria there was a line at the customs dock so the five flotilla boats had to wait their turn. It must have been an amusing sight from shore to see a convention of Grand Banks idling in the harbor, continually circling each other and playing musical boats. Docking was quite the experience as well. Deception was the first to dock behind a 100+ foot yacht which was moored right in the middle of the guest dock. Navigator and Arctic Star rafted up next to us with no problem at all. So not to take up too much room in the channel, we had to squeeze Mystic Eagle in front of the 100+ ft yacht. When I say we squeezed in, I mean Rick managed to nestle her into this spot with perhaps six inches to spare; Those Cree’s are some truly talented boaters (as RJ will be sure to let you know :) )! Oh, but we weren’t done yet… we still had to raft Inside Passage up next to Mystic Eagle. The Brantley’s were able to smoothly position IP right up next to Mystic Eagle without any problems (let’s just hope the boat behind them doesn’t have to get out in the next day or two!). Now we’re officially through customs and in Victoria, B.C.! Some of the people are planning to take it easy and relax on the boat, some are going into the city for a walking tour and dinner, and some are looking for the nearest establishment to get a martini. Overall, it was a great day and an excellent start to our trip. Tomorrow is a lay day with plenty of time to explore, relax, and continue to get to know each other. Mother Goose has officially begun. 
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